Glass
by Lyrics Amidala
Summary: He turned to her, and the look in his eyes was as fragile as glass. Movieverse: Darcy Elizabeth Stark deals with her father's nightmares.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man. Obviously. So, I've had this on my mind for a while. In Iron Man 3 –SPOILER ALERT! - Tony Stark had nightmares from his traumatic experience in New York. But, after almost losing Pepper, I think Tony would have developed what I call Anakinphobia: The fear of losing your loved ones. For those of you who don't know, Anakin Skywalker suffered from this crippling fear since his mother's death, which caused his turn to the Dark Side. But that is an entirely different story. This is a small story about Elizabeth Darcy Stark, and how she realizes that her dad, her tough, sarcastic dad, has nightmares almost every night. **

"Whoa Harvey!" Darcy said, laughing as the golden retriever licked her face. "Calm down bud!" Elizabeth Darcy Stark patted the dog on the head, winding her hands into his thick fur. Tony had insisted to name the dog after the young boy who had helped him in Rose Hill, Tennessee, back when he was chasing the Mandarin. It felt so weird to Darcy to talk like that. _Hey, my dad's a super hero. He saved New York from aliens, stopped multiple terrorists, saved the President and the country, and is "a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist". _Well, the playboy part was false. Tony and Pepper had been married for three years before they had their daughter, who was now seventeen years old. Darcy went to the bathroom on the main hall, staring at her reflection. She had Tony's thick, dark wavy hair, and Pepper's vibrant blue eyes. She was tall and slender, and as much a genius as her father. Which was why she was going down to the basement now, to see what he was doing. Darcy knocked on the pure glass door, as was procedure. As Tony said, "If I don't answer, it's because I don't want to be disturbed by tiny midgets like you." He then proceeded to scoop his six-year-old daughter up in his arms and kiss her, so she knew he was joking.

"Intrude!" Tony called from inside. Darcy rolled her eyes as she punched in the passcode and came in. Tony was examining a beaker while wearing very thick glasses. Darcy stifled a giggle.

"Nice glasses Dad," she snickered, sitting down next to him.

"Laugh all you want, but these will prevent me from going blind when I become old and gray and hideous," Tony said with a mock bow. "You might want to try them, _milady_." Darcy groaned. Pepper had named her daughter after her two favorite characters, Elizabeth and Darcy, from her favorite novel, Pride and Prejudice.

"Fine, fine," she grumbled. "I won't make fun. What is this Dad?" Tony set down the beaker, and took off his glasses.

"This is a serum that can help you stay awake and alert, not to mention in a good mood for a week. With this baby, you won't need sleep. But, it isn't completed yet, so I have to suffer through rest." Darcy furrowed her brow as she looked at the complicated chart Tony had set before them. She didn't understand why her father didn't want to sleep, but she knew better than to question. When Tony put his mind to something, you would have to be a fool to try and stop him. Fury had tried once, and had almost lost his only remaining eye. Darcy smiled slightly as she settled comfortably by her father, and went to work.

xIMx

"I'm leaving for a conference in Paris tonight," Pepper announced. Darcy almost choked on her water.

"Why?" She asked hoarsely.

"Well," Pepper began, shaking her soft red hair out of its ponytail. "Stark Industries has a very promising offer with François Holland. Something about automatic cheese-makers." Pepper smiled. Tony, however, looked deadly serious.

"Are you sure that you'll be OK going alone?" He asked. "I could always come with you. " Pepper sighed, and then turned to her daughter.

"Do you mind leaving us for a few moments Elizabeth?" She asked. Pepper was the only one who called Darcy Elizabeth. She nodded, and left. The minute she closed the door, however, she had a plan.

"Jarvis, I need to hear what they're saying," she hissed. Jarvis sighed, and suddenly, everything Tony and Pepper were saying was crystal clear.

"… _You'll _be OK?" Pepper was asking.

"I'll be fine," Tony answered. "I'm Iron Man! Big and strong, defender of the universe and crap." Darcy heard Pepper sigh.

"I'm not worrying about someone shooting you Tony," she explained. "I'm worried about," her voice lowered. "The nightmares." Darcy heard her father swallow audibly.

"You'll be gone how long?" He asked softly.

"Ten day tops," Pepper answered promptly.

"Oh, I'll be OK," Tony said, his tone breezy and blasé. "I'm almost done perfecting the serum. I'll just try to stay awake by myself until it's ready. And I'll have Jarvis keep my room soundproof, so Darcy won't hear a thing."

"I'm worried about you Tony," Pepper whimpered, her voice trembling. "You cry out in your sleep, you _never_ sleep. Sometimes you even shut me out."

"Pepper…" Tony began, but she cut him off.

"I know that you don't like it when other people see your weaknesses, but Tony, it's OK to be weak sometimes."

"Not for me," he said. "Not for Tony Stark, sarcastic businessman, or Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, or Tony Stark, confident father." Pepper sighed softly.

"What about Tony Stark, the husband?" She asked. "Can he be weak?"

"Around you, he's always weak."

"I'm good now Jarvis," Darcy said. Suddenly, she couldn't hear another word. Darcy was shocked to her core. Her father had nightmares? Impossible! Tony Stark was the strongest, bravest person she knew. There was no way he could have nightmares! But he said so himself. And Darcy was going to make it her mission to save Tony from himself in ten days.

"Jarvis, do me a favor."

"What Madame?"

"When my father says soundproof the room?"

"Yes?"

"Don't."

xIMx

Everything was ready. Darcy had just finished drinking her second cup of caffeinated coffee, her father was asleep and easily heard, and she could still see straight. Sort of. Harvey was with her as she played solitaire, trying to distract herself until Tony needed her. When she got bored, she started a conversation with Jarvis.

"Did you know?" Darcy asked.

"Know what?" He queried.

"Know that Dad had nightmares," Darcy answered.

"It seemed reasonable," Jarvis said thoughtful. "He had nightmares after New York. It would seem obvious that he would have nightmares now."

"He had nightmares after New York?" Darcy knew vague details about New York. She knew that it was when Thor's adopted brother, Loki, had tried to take over Earth with a portal full of aliens. She knew that it was because of that the Avengers, what Tony referred to as "the super hero version of One Direction" was born. She knew that the members were Steve Rogers/Captain America (Goody Two-Shoes from the time of Methuselah), Natasha Romanov/Black Widow (Sexy Spy) Dr. Banner/The Hulk (Big Angry Smashing Guy) Thor (Sucky Shakespeare), Clint Barton/Hawk-eye (Bird-Man), with Fury and Phil "Agent" Coulson as directors. Darcy knew that Phil, a friend of her parents, had been killed, which had shocked Tony to the core. She knew that her father had gone into a wormhole, the suit had stopped working, and he had very nearly died.

"What nightmares about New York?" She asked, afraid to hear the answer. Her vision of her tough father was already crumbling. Did she really want to smash it some more? Yes. She wanted to know about her father.

"After the suit malfunctioned in the wormhole," Jarvis began. "He was terrified of what would happen if the suit, if the Arc reactor itself, suddenly failed. That type of paralyzing fear even gave him severe anxiety attacks."

"But why does he have nightmares now?" Darcy asked. Jarvis was about to respond when a strangled yell came from Tony's room.

"Dad!" Darcy cried, jumping up and running out of the room. She quickly wrenched open the door to her parents room. Tony was covered in a thin layer of cold sweat, eyes staring ahead, not seeing clearly. Darcy grabbed his shoulders and shook them. "Dad!" Tony jerked, startled, and stared at his daughter, bemused.

"Darce?" He asked hoarsely. "What are you…?"

"I heard you," she said simply.

"But Jarvis…"

"I asked him not to," Darcy interrupted again. "Dad, what was your nightmare about?" Tony shook his head.

"I can't talk about it Elizabeth," he said, using her first name. "Not now, not while the darkness is still here." Darcy curled up next to her father on the bed.

"I'm staying here all night," she said. "I'll wake you up if you have any more nightmares. I promise." Tony sighed wearily.

"You're a good girl Darce," he mumbled softly, before falling back asleep. Darcy smiled into the darkness.

"Thanks Dad," she whispered, before she too succumbed to fatigue. Guess the coffee hadn't really helped that much.

xIMx

_Lizzie bolted awake, screaming. It had been so real. So vivid. The monster, its jaws dripping red, it's fangs long and sharp and deadly, fur matted and thick, dark eyes gleaming with hatred and bloodlust, claws inches away from ripping out her throat. Lizzie tried to calm her heartbeat, but she couldn't. Suddenly, the bed dipped as Tony wrapped his arms around his daughter. _

"_It's OK Lizzie," he murmured soothingly. All that came out of her mouth was terrified sobs. Her small body shuddered and her chest heaved as she fought the paralyzing fear. The same nightmare for a week now. _

"_Daddy!" She managed to gasp out, clutching him so tightly Tony made a small choking noise. _

"_Do you want to tell me about it?" He asked kindly. Lizzie turned her tear-filled blue eyes so that they stared into Tony's soft brown ones. _

"_Monster!" She whimpered. "About to eat me! It was so scary!" Her words ended in a shriek as she buried her face back into Tony's chest. He stroked her dark hair soothingly, murmuring words of reassurance. _

"_It's gone now," he murmured. "It's OK Lizbot, it's gone and it won't come back." _

"_Promise?" Lizzie asked. Tony stared at her in all seriousness. _

"_I promise," he swore solemnly. "And if it does, I'll chase it away." Lizzie sighed, and snuggled into his chest. "I'll always fight the nightmares away." _

Darcy bolted upward, gasping, heart fluttering in her chest. Those nightmares haunted her memory, but she hadn't had any since that night, when Tony promised to fight them off. Her own father, plagued with his own demons, had tried to protect her from the very same horror he had been going through for so long. Darcy looked around.

"Shit," she muttered. Darcy was in her own room, her sheets tangled around her legs. Tony must have moved her during the night. "How could I have been so stupid?" She swung her legs over the bed, and walked into the kitchen. Tony was there, hair disheveled, sipping OJ and reading the newspaper. Acting like last night hadn't even happened. Darcy slipped into a chair next to him. "Hey Dad," she said softly. Tony set down his newspaper.

"Darce, about last night…" he began, but Darcy held up her hand.

"You don't have to talk about it you don't have to," she said. Tony gently pushed her hand down.

"But I want to," he said. "When I was hunting the Mandarin, before you were born, I was captured." Darcy nodded. Aldrich Killian, the extremely handsome man behind the Mandarin, had tried to convince Tony to turn sides. Thankfully, he had not. "Killian, as you know, wanted me to fix Extremis's flaws. His motivation for getting me to do that was subjecting _Pepper _to his science experiment. And I knew that some patients reject Extremis by exploding." Tony took a deep, shuddering breath. "During the battle, Pepper was trapped, but she had survived Extremis. I tried to get her down. I promised I would catch her. Just as she let go, the crane she was on shifted, and she fell into the flames." Tony's eyes stared, unseeing, into the distance. "I thought she had died. But she didn't, and ended up killing Killian for me." Tony gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Some hero I was." Darcy swallowed thickly. Her poor dad, going through all that.

"What does that have to do with her nightmares?" She asked Tony tentatively. He turned to her, and the look in his eyes was as fragile as glass.

"Ever since, I've had nightmares about that, about losing Pepper, or losing you," he said softly. "I don't think I could handle it if anything happened to you."

"Dad, you and Mom have been married for twenty years," Darcy said softly. "You aren't going to lose her, or me. I promise." Darcy was echoing her father's words to her that night when she was six years old. She wrapped her arms around Tony, who hugged her back tightly.

"I love you Elizabeth Darcy Stark," he said, voice trembling.

"I love you too Dad."


End file.
